We asked the women of Hunter about feminism

The list of ever-contentious subjects isn’t long: Palestine & Israel, political correctness, police assaults, etc.

Ever since the suffragettes, it seems feminism (whichever wave) has been a permanent fixture on that list.

We asked the women of Hunter about their thoughts on the subject. They unsurprisingly turned out to be as varied as the students at this school.

Alessandra Vertrees, 19, Media Studies

“I feel like there are four types of ‘feminists’. There are those that want men to have less rights than women, those that hate how women are represented in the media therefore they don’t shave at all, there are those that are for equality and there are those that hate men all together.

“I think feminism is or should be the approach to having equality to men because no sex is superior. What feminism is to me is women and men getting paid the same and women and men both getting equal time off for having a child.

“I also think feminism is free access to tampons and pads. If condoms are free, so should female products.”

Annalise McClellan: 19, Political Science

“To me, feminism and being a feminist means wanting equality for men and women in every way possible. I think that if you don’t believe in feminism it makes you sound very ignorant. I don’t think feminism is the idea that women should be superior, I think that it is just the furthering of women’s rights and making all of human kind equal.”

D’nea Galbraith, 19, Psychology with a Neuroscience Concentration

“Feminism to me is standing up for the basic respect that every human deserves and that means appreciating women as valuable human beings and as large contributors to our society. Every part of womanhood seems to be disrespected or misrepresented or devalued and feminism sheds light on these ills and brings forth the greatness and importance of women.

“It has helped me to even see myself in a more positive way and has built a bond of sisterhood between all women as I believe that we all have a duty to stick together and stand up for one another in order to make this movement stronger.”

Jennie McMorrow, 20, Undeclared

“To me feminism is just the equality between the two genders. It really affected me once I moved to NYC because of all the guys cat calling on the streets and just the fact that they don’t respect women makes me extra careful for my well being in certain situations.”

Alexa Ray, 23, Nursing

“I believe feminism is extremely important because so many women think it’s not. I feel like there are so many women that say they aren’t feminists just because they think it’s not a popular decision or because they feel like they don’t need to stand up for something they don’t care about. Sexism is rampant in today’s society just because you don’t personally see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

Stephanie Ginzburg, 19, English

“Feminism is something a lot of people don’t like to talk about. I used to shy away from labeling myself a feminist because of the response I would get from it. However, I along with everyone else should not be disrespected or ridiculed for being a feminist.

“For me, feminism is about freedom and equality. It’s about giving women the freedom to do whatever they want in life. Men are still paid more than women, and we don’t have control over our reproductive rights, which is absolutely absurd. We should have the power to choose what happens to our bodies and every woman deserves to receive the same amount of pay as a man. Right now, a movement of powerful women is seen as threatening, as if we have an evil agenda toward men.

“There are a lot of negative stereotypes going around and because of that there are plenty of people who are hesitant to call themselves feminists. In the end, feminism is about letting women live their lives without judgment or fear, and until that happens, we will continue to fight for what we deserve.”